Study: Many small businesses feel heat from big retailers

Study: Many small businesses feel heat from big retailers

One in four small-to-mid-sized businesses (SMBs) keep larger competitors in mind when making shipping/logistics decisions.

According to the “2020 SMB Shipping Strategies Report” from uShip, a logistics technology platform for large and bulky goods, nearly half (47%) of SMB decision makers who have involvement or influence in distribution/logistics and/or procurement/purchasing estimate an increase to their shipping spend in 2020 compared to 2019.

The study, conducted online with third-party research firm YouGov, also revealed SMB shipping spend is being influenced by big-box retailers. Twenty-five percent of surveyed SMB decision-makers said the logistics strategies of Amazon and Walmart are influencing how they think about shipping, while 27% said those strategies are influencing how their customers think about shipping.

Other interesting findings include:

• 20% of SMB decision-makers would rather invest in the right logistics team over technology, while 30% plan to make new logistics technology a priority. Fourteen percent say investing in new technology is too expensive, while 17% prefer to invest in alternatives to traditional shipping options such as UPS, FedEx, and freight brokers.
• 17% don’t trust fragile items to arrive safely or unbroken.
• 15% can’t find a reliable carrier to ship oversized and bulky items
• 12% can’t find an affordable shipping solution.
• 11% don’t know where to find alternative shipping options to organizations like UPS and freight brokers.